Dating in Melbourne or London: it's a man buffet.

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1.8 Date a girl who can sew.

Date a girl who can sew. Date a girl who can sew because she knows it takes patience, structure and care to make something beautiful – whether it be clothes, cakes, or a relationship. She knows it takes hard work and dedication to make something of a high quality, for it to be long-lasting and to stand the test of time. She knows that for friendships, relationships and fixing broken hearts and hems a Made In China approach won’t do.

Date a girl who can sew because she’s good with her hands, her gentle hands – she can thread a needle through a hole you can’t see, she can move fabric through pieces of metal you don’t understand and she can make an outfit out of fabric you were pretty sure were curtains five seconds ago.

Date a girl who can sew because she’ll have creativity and passion for something other than her job, her nails and her hair. She won’t rant at you for hours when she gets home from work about her infuriating boss because she knows that to switch off, all she has to do is sew.

Date a girl who can sew because when she’s sewing she’s quiet, she won’t bother you. You can watch sport, drink beer and stare at your laptop. She won’t hover and bother and ask questions, because a girl who can sew is more interested in sewing.

This girl will have an understanding of machinery and oil and odd man things like that. She won’t bang it with a hammer or high-heel and expect it to work.

Date a girl who can sew because she won’t waste her money – or your money for that matter – on overpriced clothes. She knows how much clothing and fabric is worth. She won’t spend $400 on a cotton shift dress because it’s fashionable, she’ll buy cotton for $4 and make one herself. She’ll spend money on silk though – ohh yes. Still a fraction of what the high street would be ripping you off by though, so let her go nuts.

You’ll be amazed at the things she can fix with a needle and thread or an industrial sewing machine: backpacks, sleeping bags, any sort of pocket with a hole, golf bags, gym bags, leather handbags… Hell, if you can stick a needle through it, she can fix it.

She’ll know how to read instructions, and have a methodical approach to getting something done. She understands instructions and knows how to follow them to end up with well-made, finished product.

Date a girl who can sew because she’ll wear pretty dresses she’s made herself that no other girl will ever be wearing. You can proudly say “She made that herself!” when you’ve had nine drinks and are having a proud boyfriend moment.

She’ll have the gift of listening and sewing at the same time. This is different to watching television and listening – when you sew you really can put 99% of your attention to listening, as everything else you’re doing with your hands and eyes, and you don’t need to think about it: peddle up, peddle down, pins out, foot up. Plus she’s not rotting her mind watching useless crap on television like the Biggest Loser or the Voice because instead she’s doing something useful and creative.

Date a girl who can sew because knows how to get blood out of clothes. From that many pin pricks. So go to town Dexter.

Date a girl who can sew because you’ll never hear her complaining about clothes in the shops not fitting her – she can already make anything she wants in the colour, fabric and exact size and fit for herself. Which means she’ll always be wearing clothes that fit amazingly and look tailored to fit.

She won’t go fascinator or hat-shit crazy at Spring Racing Carnival and spend a small fortune on feathers and fluff. She can make her headwear from leftover fabric and the base pieces that cost 50c from Lincraft. You need a pocket square to match her? Not a problem.

And when you get married don’t worry about the dress; don’t worry about paying $4000 for it either. She’ll make it herself, or enlist the help of her sewing teacher or know the exact person she wants to make it. Bridesmaid dresses? Easy. She can whip them up cheaper than the Bali versions and she wont be using dance time satin because she already knows how god-awful it looks in the photos.

Date a girl who can sew because your children will always have the best school dress-up day outfits, birthday dresses, dance costumes, Halloween, Christmas, drama, musical costumes or whatever it is your child wants. And never mind growing out of it – tear up the fabric and recycle for next years, Kermit becomes Shrek and so on.

Date a girl who can sew because she can teach your children and your grandchildren the joy of sewing, the art of creating something, and she might just be teaching the next Alex Perry. She can put the spark of creativity in their minds and show them how to use their hands for more than iPads and PlayStations. She’ll teach them to make something that they’ll love, be proud of and remember the time spent building and creating for years to come.

Date a girl who can sew because she’ll be patient, smart and sew, sew awesome.

3 thoughts on “1.8 Date a girl who can sew.”

I really enjoyed this personal essay. Your passion for the craft, the skills you possess, and how sewing fits into your life and mates with you are really comes through in this piece. In describing you, the sewer, in the context of relationships, you are describing the qualities and substance of the environment that a friend or partner would experience when in your presence. Seems like a wonderful place to me. Thanks for sharing.

Enjoyed this essay. The author is right on about girls who sew. In high school in the 70’s I sewed everything I owned. Garment sewing is a lost art in our day, but experiencing some resurgence . Every girl should stay away from the mall, the television, PlayStations, etc. and just learn to sew!